Caitlyn Jenner settles lawsuit in fatal Malibu chain-reaction crash

Caitlyn Jenner attends the Glamour Women of of the Year Awards (left). Jessica Steindorff's Toyota Prius is seen in photos released to Eyewitness News by her attorney (right). (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Robert Simon)

KABC

By ABC7.com staff

Thursday, December 31, 2015

MALIBU, Calif. --

Caitlyn Jenner has settled a lawsuit in connection to a chain-reaction crash that left an elderly woman dead in Malibu.

Authorities said Jenner was towing an off-road vehicle on a trailer behind a Cadillac Escalade when she crashed into two cars, pushing one into oncoming traffic.

Steindorff and her attorney, Robert Simon, claimed the former Olympian and reality TV star operated her SUV negligently, causing the crash and killing 69-year-old Kim Howe.

"It's my understanding that [Mrs.] Jenner struck the white Lexus, knocking it into oncoming traffic, and then rear-ending me at a high rate of speed. I was only struck once," Steindorff said in a statement following the crash. He also released photos of his client's 2010 Prius.

Jessica Marie Steindorff's attorney Robert Simon released this photo to Eyewitness News.

Jessica Marie Steindorff's attorney Robert Simon released this photo to Eyewitness News.

Jessica Marie Steindorff's attorney Robert Simon released this photo to Eyewitness News.

Jessica Marie Steindorff's attorney Robert Simon released this photo to Eyewitness News.

(Photos courtesy of Robert Simon)

Details of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

Meantime, prosecutors declined to charge Jenner in the crash, citing insufficient evidence to support a case.

A prosecutor wrote in a one-page sheet declining to file charges that Jenner was traveling slightly below the posted speed limit and began braking less than two seconds before the crash. To prove misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, prosecutors would have had to show Jenner was negligent and had violated a basic speed law.

Based on the facts, the office determined they "cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that suspect's conduct was unreasonable."

The accident occurred before Jenner announced she is transgender and transitioned into her new identity as Caitlyn.